


On the first day of Christmas

by Rose_2925



Category: God’s Own Country (2017)
Genre: Boys In Love, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Established Relationship, Fluff, John is a dog person, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 06:27:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17136689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_2925/pseuds/Rose_2925
Summary: Johnny searches high and low for Gheorghes Christmas gift—until inspiration strikes!





	On the first day of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MarzgaPerez](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarzgaPerez/gifts).



> Holiday themed fluff for my boys!

“Shite!” Johnny swore quietly as he stubbed his toe on the beside table. He froze, hoping he hadn’t woken the man sleeping in his bed. After a moment though, Gheorghe’s soft snoring resumed from his side. Johnny sighed in relief, before climbing back into the bed, sliding under the warm quilt and snuggling next to Gheorghe. _God_! _The_ _man_ _was_ _like_ _a_ _furnace_.He admired the curve of his jaw in the dim light and then closed his eyes; for once, it seemed, things were going as planned.

 

 

1 week earlier

 

Johnny had often complained about how isolated it was, living on a farm in the middle of nowhere. As he forced his way through hoards of people Christmas shopping the week before Christmas, he reconsidered. Kicking himself, Johnny had left his Christmas shopping to the last minute. None of the small shops in town had anything of interest, so he and Robyn (newly graduated and back at home) had planned an emergency trip to the closest shopping centre. They had started off in Marks & Spencer’s, entering through the ground level—ladies perfume and jewelry. An older sales woman must had seen the distress on his face and said kindly “looking for something for your girl?” John had looked to Robyn and back at the saleswoman, confused. Rob had guffawed and taken his arm, pulling him towards the escalator “I’m afraid we’re headed to the **men’s** department!”

Johnny had rolled his eyes at her and began perusing the men’s clothing idly. It was much less hectic up here, he observed. Gheorghe could use more undershirts, Johnny supposed, and headed to the underwear section. After a few lewd jokes, gesturing to the display mannequins, John had told Robyn he’d meet her at the food court in an hour. Now, as he was swarmed by people, he almost wished he hadn’t sent her away. He knew he was clueless about a lot of things, but gift giving had never been his strong suit. Gheorghe was always so thoughtful, John knew he’d wind up looking callous by comparison. To make matters more stressful, this was their first major holiday together as a couple. Things had been going well, but Johnny still wanted to convince Gheorghe he had made the right decision, coming back with him.

 

He ran a hand over his face and pushed his way to the food court, eventually finding Rob and grabbing some lunch.

“Any luck?” She asked, a couple bags beside her on the table.

“I—“ Johnny was interrupted by a small child behind them.

“BUT I WANT A PUPPY FOR CHRISTMAS MOMMY!!”

And just like that, Johnny knew what he was getting.

 

A couple months back their neighbour Mr.Wiley had told Nan he was expecting a litter of pups—good sheep-herding dogs. Nan had mentioned it to John in passing, along with the other local gossip he’d related to her at the grocery store.

 

The day after the shopping fiasco, John had driven over, praying there were still some left. He was in luck, there were three pups still unclaimed. He’d crouched down by the pen and petted the small furry things on the head as they wagged their tails at him. On impulse, John picked the middle one up by the middle and was besieged by doggy-kisses on his chin. He laughed, despite himself—it seemed the dog had chosen him.

 

John arranged to buy the dog—a female, as it turned out—and pick it up late Christmas Eve. He’d let himself in to Wiley’s barn and brought the pup back in a small crate, hoping she wouldn’t be too lonely in the garage—he was quite proud of his Christmas surprise—though he was also desperately hoping Gheorghe turned out to be a dog person.

 

Christmas morning came and John made an excuse to grab something in the barn as Gheorghe finished up with the cows. After checking to make sure the pup was okay, he joined Gheorghe, Nan and Martin back in the house.

 

The boys stripped off their cover-all’s and sat down at the table, where Nan had pulled out all the stops for Christmas breakfast. She had made thick pancakes, drizzled with syrup, bacon, eggs and blueberry muffins. John’s mouth watered.

“This looks lovely Deidre, Thank you” Gheorghe said softly. Nan, clearly chuffed, made a non-committal sound before waving to the food, “Best eat it while it’s still hot!” John did not have to be told twice.

After the plates were cleared away, the four of them gathered in the front room, where a small sprightly tree stood in the corner.

Gheorghe, of course, had insisted they get a tree. “It is Christmas!” He exclaimed, “so we will have a Christmas tree.”

They hadn’t put up a tree for at least 10 years, old boxes were excavated from the attic and dusted off. Johnny thought it looked pretty decent.

 

He sat on the couch as Gheorghe distributed the gifts; he had bought Nan a beautiful jumper and new gardening gloves, Martin a new cap, and lastly gave Johnny his. John ripped open the shiny paper to reveal a box, containing a novel that looked vaguely familiar and an envelope. He looked sideways at Gheorghe before opening the envelope—inside was two train tickets to London, for the end of January. “Ye didn’t have to..this is too much!”

Gheorghe smiled, shaking his head, “You told me once you’d never been—apart from a school trip—everyone should visit London!”

Before John could protest again, Nan cut in, “don’t say owt more lad, he talked to us about it and we can manage for a couple days. You boys have been working hard and you deserve a break.”

 

That in and of itself should be their gift, John thought. He smiled then, squeezing Gheorghes hand and looking from him to Nan, “Thank ye.”

After a beat he let go and stood up, “I’ve left your gift in the car, I’ll just go get it.” Then bounded out of the room and out to the shed. He picked up the puppy and slowly tiptoed back into the house. “Nan” he shouted, “why don’t you give Gheorghe yours?”

 

Nan was, of course, in on the surprise and handed Gheorghe a small parcel. She could tell the lad was slightly confused but would go along with John’s scheme. He carefully opened the wrapping to reveal a small purple collar. He then looked up and saw John in the doorway, small collie puppy in his arms.

 

Gheorghe gasped and Johnny grinned, walking towards the couch and depositing the dog on Gheorghes lap. “John!” He exclaimed, “this is ours??”

John scratched his neck, “Yeah. Well I figured if were going to make a go of this we may as well do it proper? Have a dog n all?” He paused..” do ye like her?”

Gheorghes eyes welled as he looked from John to the squirming puppy, which was now attempting to lick his face. A huge grin split his face “I love her! And I love you!” He leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to John’s lips before holding the puppy up in front of him. “ and what are we to call you _draga_ _mea_?”

 

John felt his heart swell as he looked at Gheorghe fussing over the puppy. For once, it seemed, he had selected the perfect present. He felt a weight as Nan dropped a package into his lap. She merely nodded her head once as he opened it, the thick book read “Puppy Training 101”.

She folded her arms, a wry look on her face. “One of them’s already ruined my best tea towels. I’ll be beggared if the other ruins the carpet.”

Johnny smiled and rolled his eyes, Merry Christmas indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

_draga_ _mea_ —-my darling, in Romanian (usually referring to a woman/female)


End file.
